Bene
BENE Bene is a main character and a inhabitant in The City of God.He's the best friend of [[Ze Pequeno (Lil Ze)|Ze Pequeno ]]and a criminal alongside him. He's the younger brother of Shaggy, the leader of the crimnal trio, the Tender Trio Although this said,Bene is a good-hearted and friendly person and spurred on by his later girlfriend,Angelica, he wants to escape the life of crime. = HISTORY Bene was born and grew up in the City of God. At some point in his childhood, he met and befriended Lil Ze (at the time called Lil Dice) who would go on to become his best friend. He alongside Lil Dice followed around and looked up to Bene's brother and his friends who formed a criminal trio known as the "Tender Trio". He and Lil Dice shows up to a local casual soccer game one day being played by a group of other young boys in the favela. He jokigly gives Buscupe (who is playing with them) advice not to give the ball to Lil Dice as he sucks at Soccer.He and Lil Dice tags alongside the Tender Trio to perform a holdup on a gas propane tank where him and Clipper (another member of the Tender Trio) are handing out propane gas tanks to members of Favela. He and the Tender Trio later blend back into the soccer game in order to avoid the police who arrive at the holdup After Lil Dice kills everyone at the motel during a holdup there, he and Bene leave the City of God and perform petty crime in other parts of the favela.They return to the City of God with a rather large sum of both money and Jewelry. While sorting through it, they're confronted by Goose who takes a sum of cash and leaves.Bene watches as Lil Dice guns Goose down. Bene remains with Lil Dice as he continues to rise through the City of God's criminal underworld . By the time that both have reached their very late teens they had gained a following of criminals which had formed into Lil Dice's crime gang with Bene cting as the second in command of it. During Lil Ze's coming of age birthday celebration, he's pulled aside by Lil Dice who expresses his desire to kill the other druicing the difg lords and take over their territories. They visit a witch doctor where he gives Lil Dice his necklace for protection having him rename himself as Lil Ze (Ze Pequeno).Lil Ze begins to kill off all the other druglords takig over their territories with the exception of A druglord called Carrot as he's good friends with Carrot. He's present with Lil Ze as he and a group of Ze's men take the apartment from Blackie (a young druglord) but he's convinced against killing Blackie by Bene who convinces him to allow Blackie to work as a manager for Ze. Bene once again steps in and stops Ze from harming Buscape (who was buying coke from Blackie at the same time that the raid was happening) as he's Goose's brother in which Lil Ze relents. With Lil Ze's drug business flourishing,Lil Ze and Bene become quite rich gaining large amounts of money,jewelry and even smaller things like televisions. He and Bene are seen riding bikes through the streets of the favela One day he,a young kid called Steak and Fries and Blackie are hanging out when Blackie conducts a deal with Tiago. Bene, noticing Tiago's clothing choice follows Tiago on blackie's bike and challanges him to a bike race. He wins the race (although mainly because Tiago slows down fearing that Bene would kill him for winning the race). After reaching the finishing line,Bene asks Tiago where he gets his clothes then gives him a wad of cash and asks for Tiago to buy him some clothes in which Tiago returns later with new clothes. He is later introduced by Tiago to the groovies including Buscape and Angelica (whom he takes a liking towards). While he still works as part of Lil Ze's drug empire he begins to spend more time with the Groovies and in particular Angelica. When he later shows up at the apartment in his new clothes he is made front of by Lil Ze. He attends a party where he is constantly hounded by Lil Ze to assist him in talking to Carrot about the runts (a group of little kid who have a reputation for breakig rules and stealing) who have been robbing stores in Ze's territory.When Buscape and some of the other groovies arrive (including Angelica) he greets them and then invites Angelica to dance. He's forced step in and calm down a heated argument between Carrot and Ze in which he convinces Carrot to tell he runts to lay off robbing in Ze's neighbourhood. Shortly after he begins to date Angelica officially After Blackie is called to the apartment and is beaten down brutally by Lil Ze for killing his girlfriend in the hood (which has attracted the attention of the police),Bene steps in and kicks Blackie out of the gang. While Lil Ze insists that Bene's nice-hearted nature could put him in danger and that Bene and him should talk about Carrot,Bene simply tells him he needs a girlfriend and leaves to hang out with Angelica. Angelica later brings up the idea of them leaving the City of God and going to live on a farm and smoke pot.While at first Bene jokingly brushes it off, he later agrees with her.He invites people all over the favela for a farewell party. While there he is pulled aside by Lil Ze who tries to convince him to stay in the City of God and help him with his plans for Carrot.Bene insists that Carrot is a good person and that Lil Ze shows a hostility unnecessarily to everyone. He enforces his desire to leave with Angelica and goes to dance with her.He's approached by Tiago and a friend who tries to buy some cocaine off him in exchange for a camera which he stole off his dad. At first Bene refuses as he doesn't deal anymore but after some insistance from Angelica buys it with the intent of giving it to Buscape. He buys it and gives the rocket Buscupe who's elated. However, at the moment the camera is snatched off Buscape by a jealous and angry Lil Ze who begins a tug of war for the camera. While attempting to prise the camera of Lil Ze, he is shot accidentally by Blackie who was aiming for Lil Ze and dies instantly.He is instantly mourned over by a distraught Angelica who is chased off by Lil Ze who also mourns him. TRIVIA =